


Here, At The End Of The World

by themostmarvelousimagines



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Marriage Proposal, Reunions, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-14 01:48:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14125482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themostmarvelousimagines/pseuds/themostmarvelousimagines
Summary: Steve and the rest of the Avengers return to Wakanda to discuss the situation regarding Thanos. The reader, a former scientist for SHIELD, reunites with Steve after staying in Wakanda to help Bucky recover.





	Here, At The End Of The World

**Author's Note:**

> Anyone else thirsty for bearded Cap because boi I am p a r c h e d. Hope this turned out okay!

Wakanda was like something out of a fairy tale. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and everything about T’challa’s family made you feel like you were welcome there. At Steve’s request, you’d stayed with Bucky to help take care of him after what happened in Siberia, and the royal family was more than willing to let you stay with them for a while. Months had passed and you’d formed a strong bond with Shuri, who was leading Bucky’s recovery. She was doing a damn good job of it, too.

You helped wherever you could, being sure to stay courteous and polite outside of joking around with T’challa and his sister. Everything seemed to be going smoothly; Bucky was doing better, the ordeal with T’challa being overthrown had been taken care of, and you couldn’t have been more happy to help Shuri research and create new tech. However, while you’d worked for SHIELD for years aiding in scientific experimentation, inventing new technology wasn’t really your strong suit. Because of this, you usually just handed her things and offered advice where it was needed, which was exactly what you were doing when Steve returned.

“Shuri, Y/N,” T’challa shouted from the doorway of the lab, “We have guests, please wrap up whatever it is you’re doing.”

“I am trying to replace human tissue with vibranium, brother!” Shuri replied form her workbench, “This isn’t something I can just pause!”

T’challa rolled his eyes then looked to you, and you put your hands up defensively.

“I don’t get to leave until she says so,” You said, pointing to Shuri with your thumb.

“Shuri!” T’challa yelled over the sounds of Shuri’s noisy tools, “I am taking Y/N, our guests need to see her!”

“Fine!” Shuri groaned, “But I need her back in half an hour so we can finish running tests.”

“I make no promises,” T’challa chuckled, offering you his arm as you approached. “You’re going to want to stick around.”

You eyed him suspiciously, but took his arm and followed him out of the lab. “Who’s here?”

“Don’t tempt me to ruin the surprise,” He chuckled, nudging you playfully.

T’challa had become like an older brother to you, much like how Shuri had become a little sister. You were certain Bucky could say the same with how often he and Shuri spent time together, but maybe not to the extend of teasing the royal siblings. For you, however, the occasional ‘roast’ as Shuri called them, was not off limits. It definitely made things interesting around the palace.

Not before long, you and T’challa arrived at the main hall, where a large group of people stood socializing. When you caught a glimpse of Vision and heard Bruce laugh over the loud conversation, your eyes lit up. Wanda was the first to notice you, and she wasted no time in making the others aware of your presence. She tapped Vision’s shoulder and said something you couldn’t hear, and suddenly all eyes were on you.

“Is that my science buddy?” Bruce said, pushing through the crowd and extending his arms out to you.

“Long time no see, big guy,” You said, grinning and giving him a tight hug.

“Where the hell did Steve go?” Natasha said, looking around the room with an annoyed look on her face. “Of all times for him to disappear.”

“Steve’s here?” You asked, your heart rate picking up in pace just at the mention of his name.

It had been so long since you’d seen him last. It wasn’t exactly a secret to the others that you and Steve were definitely more than friends, but less than lovers. Ever since you first met him when Loki attacked New York, neither of you could really hide your feelings for one another. Jokes were made about the both of you being a couple, but neither of you could find the courage to actually make a move. There were a few close encounters and plenty of almost-but-not-really-a-kiss moments, but something always seemed to interrupt.

“He was,” Natasha scoffed, folding her arms.

“Who was what?”

From behind you, Steve entered the room, holding some kind of tablet and walking side-by-side with Okoye. At first, you didn’t recognize him. His hair was nearly touching his shoulders, it was slightly darker than him normal blond, and he had this lumberjack-esque beard on his face. Not only that, his suit was different; tattered and worn with the sleeves rolled up just below his elbows. The moment your eyes fell on him, you couldn’t look away. In turn, it seemed he was doing the same to you.

A very weak “Hi,” was all you could seem to choke out as you stood there, your entire body having frozen over. You were suddenly very aware that while he was standing there looking like a freaking God, you were still wearing your lab coat, covered in stains, and you hadn’t washed your hair in two days. Realizing you looked very disheveled in comparison to his perfection, you cleared your throat uncomfortably and removed your gloves, nearly dropping them on the floor.

“Hi,” Steve replied, a half smile crossing his lips.

As though everyone had taken a hint, the group followed T’challa into the meeting hall, talking over each other as they went. Soon, silence fell as the doors closed behind Steve, and his entire demeanor changed in the blink of an eye. He very hastily dropped the tablet onto a nearby table and rushed over to you, taking you up in his arms and resting a hand on the back of your head. You wasted no time in wrapping your arms around his broad shoulders, burying your face into his neck and smiling when his beard tickled your forehead.

Which reminded you...

“This is a look,” You said playfully, reaching up and running your palms over the beard. He laughed and took both of your hands in his, running his thumbs over the back of them and beaming down at you.

“You like it?” He asked, flipping his hair gently. “Figured I’d follow Bucky’s fashion advice for being a fugitive.”

“It’s a good look for you,” You replied, “It’s a really good look for you.”

Chuckling, Steve released your hands and placed his on the sides of your neck, his thumbs resting just beneath your ears. He sighed and his eyes went soft as he looked you over, making heat rush to your face. He’d looked at you like that a million and one times before, yet it somehow always made you flustered.

“I missed you, Y/N,” He said tenderly, “I can’t thank you enough for staying to help Bucky, you know how much that means to me.”

“Shuri’s been doing most of the work,” You said, “But I’ve been helping where I can. He’s been doing really well.”

“That’s good to hear,” Steve sighed, “We’re going to need his help.”

“Wait, why?” You asked.

Steve hesitated, dropping his gaze and shaking his head, but then said in a very low voice, “Something’s coming. We don’t know what yet, but it’s... it isn’t good.”

“Is that why you’re here?”

He nodded.

“I guess that explains that.”

-

There was a big meeting, then a big dinner, and a little bit of down-time. Steve took the opportunity to catch up with Bucky, so you decided to spend some time with Wanda. After Sokovia, the two of you grew to be pretty good friends, so you knew you could go to her with anything. You spent most of your time joking around, hanging out, being normal friends for a short amount of time. It was nice while it lasted.

Eventually, you had to ask the burning question.

“I really don’t want to pry,” You started, “But... is Steve... okay? After what happened in Siberia?”

“He’s... different,” Wanda said, “He really hasn’t been the same, but I think it’s been good for him, in a way. Steve sees things in a different way than he used to.”

“I guess that’s good,” You sighed, “He just seems like he’s holding something back, I dunno. Did he seem kind of nervous during dinner? Or was that just me?”

Wanda pursed her lips together and averted her eyes, toying with the long sleeves of her shirt.

“Wanda,” You said, narrowing your eyes at her. “What is he hiding?”

“It’s not my place to say,” She said, a smile forming. “You’ll just have to wait to find out.”

The amused look on her face made your stomach drop. Not out of fear, but out of anticipation. What the hell could Steve possibly be hiding that would make Wanda act like that? Everything about the situation seemed off to you, but you didn’t really have any option other than to wait to see what happened.

It wasn’t until later that Sam showed up, interrupting Wanda in the middle of her story about something stupid Clint had done. When he entered the room, he had both hands behind his back and the same look on his face that Wanda had earlier, complete with the “I know something you don’t“ smirk.

“Ladies,” He said, “Sorry to interrupt, but Cap’s looking for you, Y/N.”

-

Sam led you to Steve’s room where he was waiting, his arms folded over his chest and a few stray hairs in his face. When he saw you come into the room, his rough features softened and he smiled, which, in turn, made you smile. It was hard not to share Steve’s joy; it was extremely contagious.

“She’s all yours,” Sam said playfully, flashing Steve a grin and closing the door behind him. Steve shook his head and approached you, taking your face in his hands and planting a kiss to the top of your head. Your heart fluttered in your chest at the gesture and the realization that you were alone with Steve for the first time in a very long time. It was rare to have stolen moments when the world as you knew it was falling apart.

“We have a lot to talk about,” Steve muttered, “Come on out to the balcony with me.”

For the next hour or so, you and Steve sat on the balcony to his room, discussing life after what happened in Siberia. You talked about Bucky’s progress, Shuri’s amazing talent for invention, T’challa becoming like a brother to you, the beauty of Wakanda; all of the good things you could think of to counter the bad things that always seemed to overshadowed them. Steve watched you carefully as you talked, taking in your features and details that he’d memorized long ago.

When Steve brought up the current predicament, he became suddenly very intense. He couldn’t meet your eye, fiddled with his gloves, ran a hand through his hair; it was clear that he was nervous. You, of course, couldn’t blame him. When something from far off worlds was coming to destroy everything you know and loved, it was hard not to be at least a little anxious. While it was true that Steve was dreading the weeks to follow, he was far more nervous about something else.

“Something’s about to happen,” Steve sighed, “It’s going to change the everything. I don’t know if that means we’ll win or we’ll lose, but we won’t be the same after this. Some of us...”

His shoulder slumped and he looked down at his lap.

“What?” You asked, scooting closer to him. “‘Some of us’ what?”

“Some of us aren’t coming back from this,” He said, his voice faltering. “I have a feeling a lot of people are going to die, Y/N.”

At this, you mimicked his previous actions; dropping your gaze and your entire body deflating. Steve took your hand in his and squeezed it tightly, almost to the point where it hurt. The crushing reality that this could be the end for so many of your friends- most of which were more like family- set your heart on fire; smoke filling your chest and making it hard to breathe. Your eyes misted over and you shut them, not bothering to fight back the tears.

“Hey,” Steve said faintly, “Can you look at me?”

You shook your head.

Steve used his free hand to take your chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilted your head to look at him. Despite wanting to look away, you met his gaze, blinking away the tears that had formed. He placed his hand on the side of your face, using his thumb to wipe away a stray tear. You studied the look on his face; his forehead creased, his brows drawn together, his jaw tight and his lips turned downward in a frown. It only added to the ache in your chest to see him like that.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” He said, “If I don’t make it out of this fight alive, no matter what your answer is, I can at least die knowing I was honest with you.”

His hand left yours and he reached into the pocket of his suit, pulling something out and holding it in his hand. You eyed him suspiciously and looked from his hand, to his face, and back. He chuckled nervously, ran a hand through his hair, averted his eyes, and bit down on his lower lip. Just based on his body language, you could tell he was about to tell you what Wanda was talking about earlier.

“Y/N, you mean everything to me,” He said, meeting your eyes again. “I don’t think you even realize how much I actually care about you. Even when we first met, I just had this urge to get close to you. That first day on the Helicarrier when I walked into the lab, you were writing something down-”

“And I snapped my pen in half when I saw you,” You recalled with a laugh, “There was ink everywhere, Tony was so pissed at me.”

“I remember,” Steve laughed, “You were a lot stronger than you looked.”

“Still am,” You grinned, slugging him in the shoulder playfully.

The atmosphere had lightened significantly, both of you now all smiles. Steve had relaxed some, and could finally piece his words together without clumsily stumbling over them. After you both had stopped laughing, he looked at you, gathered every bit of confidence he had in him, and continued with his little speech.

“Sometimes I regret not saying this sooner, I had so many opportunities to but just... couldn’t. It might be too late to have everything we could have had, but I just wanted you to know that I love you, and I always have. If the world really is about to end, I’d rather it end with you by my side.”

Steve grabbed your hand and placed whatever he’d been holding into your palm. It was warm, small, and felt like it was made of some kind of metal. When his hand moved away, the ring was finally revealed to you, and all of the clues finally fell into place. Everything clicked in your mind and you realized what was happening. Your tears from earlier returned, but this time, for different reasons. Partially from the overwhelming love you felt for Steve in that moment, but also because of the sudden rush of adrenaline.

“I missed out on having you as a girlfriend,” He said, flashing you that charming smile of his. “But I’m hoping having you as my wife will make up for it.”


End file.
